Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
261 / Paleozoic
Ophiacodon
Ophiacodon mirus
Its long skull and deep tail suggest a waterside animal that was still a capable walker.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 299–272 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Permian
- Geographic range
- River plains and lakeshores · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Ophiacodon?
Ophiacodon (Ophiacodon mirus) was an extinct organism known from About 299–272 million years ago, with a range in River plains and lakeshores · North America.
Life and ecology
Ophiacodon was an early synapsid feeding on fish, small tetrapods and carrion with a low body and sprawling limbs.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Ophiacodon disappear?
Changing climates and predator communities saw more specialized sphenacodonts and therapsids spread; this is context, not proof that they replaced it.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Ophiacodon?
Skeletons of several ages, bone density and limb proportions constrain its amphibious habits.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS